QWE2000 Session 5M

Mr. Oliver Niese, Tiziana Margaria, Markus Nagelmann, Bernhard Steffen, Georg Brune & Hans-Dieter Ide [Germany]
(META Frame Technologies GmbH)

An Open Environment for Automated Integration Testing

Full Technical Paper in QWE2000 CD-ROM

Key Points

Presentation Abstract

The increasing complexity of today's testing scenarios demands for an integrated, open, and flexible approach to test definition, evaluation, and management. Systems under test become integrated (e.g. include Computer Telephony Integrated platform aspects), embedded (e.g. with hardware/software codesign), and run on distributed architectures (e.g. client/server architectures). In addition, it is increasingly unrealistic to restrict the consideration to single units, since complex subsystems affect each other, and require scalable, integrated test methodologies.

In our approach, we add a Test Coordination layer driving the generation, execution, evaluation, and management of the system-level tests in the highly heterogeneous landscape. The coordination layer introduces the required flexibilization of the overall architecture of the test environment: it is a modular and open environment, so that diverse tools and units under test can be added at need. Through a CORBA/RMI-based implementation of the communication layer we are able to address and encapsulate a wide range of commercial test tools: this increases over time the reach and the capabilities of the resulting environment.

About the Speaker

Oliver Niese

Born 31.8.70, received the Diplom in Computer Science from the University of Dortmund (Germany) in February 1999. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Dortmund and is working at METAFrame Technologies GmbH as a consultant. He has experiences in large OO-projects with UML and Java as well as in formal verification methods. Within the ITE project, he is the technical leader at METAFrame.

Tiziana Margaria

Born 14.10.64, she holds a Laurea in Ingegneria Elettronica from the Politecnico di Torino (Italy) (1988) and a Ph.D. in Computer and Systems Engineering from the same institution (1993). She held assistant positions in Computer Science at the Technical University of Aachen and at the University of Passau. 1999 she was Visiting Professor at the Department of Computer Systems in Uppsala (S). Since June 1998 she is Senior Researcher at the University of Dortmund (D). She co-founded METAFrame Technologies GmbH in 1997, and serves since then as the company's CEO. Within the ITE project, Dr.Margaria in particular consults for formal verification methods.

Markus Nagelmann

Born 24.6.68, received the Diplom in Computer Science from the University of Dortmund (Germany) in April 2000. He is working at METAFrame Technologies GmbH as a consultant and gained experiences in computer telephony integration (CORBA, web based management) in projects with the business telephone switching division of Siemens ICN (Witten, Germany). Within the ITE project he is a member of the technical engineering team of the ITE project.

Bernhard Steffen

Born 31.5.58, he holds a Diplom in Mathematics (1983) and a Ph.D. in Computer Science (1987) from the University of Kiel (Germany). After holding research positions at the University of Edinburgh, UK (1988-89) and at the University of Aarhus, DK (1990) he was tenured Associate Professor at the Technical University of Aachen, D (1990-93) and held the Chair of Programming Systems at the University of Passau, D (1993-97). Since August 1997 he holds the Chair of Programming Systems at the University of Dortmund, D, where he heads the METAFrame project, concerning the development of a flexible environment for reliable definition and custom configuration of complex workflows. He co-founded METAFrame Technologies GmbH in 1997.

Georg Brune

Born 7.7.53, he holds a Diplom (1980) and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (1985) from the University of Dortmund (Germany). After years of activity in hardware development (1985 û 1998), Dr.Brune heads since 1998 the CTI application development group within Siemens' Information and Communication Networks division (ICN EN HO SE 5). Dr.Brune heads the ITE project.

Hans-Dieter Ide

Born 18.7.52, he holds a Diplom (1979) and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (1985) from the University of Dortmund (Germany). Since 1986 he works for Siemens AG. Currently he leads the coordination and process development group within Siemens' Information and Communication Networks division (ICN EN HO SE 1).